Real Betis midfielder Sergio Canales scored his first goal for the senior Spanish national team in their friendly with the Netherlands on Wednesday evening only for it to be cancelled out by a second-half Donny van de Beek strike.
Canales has been in fine form this season and epitomised the strength in depth Spain exhibited with an experimental lineup. The Cantabrian finished cooly on his left foot at the edge of the box in the 19th minute after being fed by Alvaro Morata.
La Roja looked the more accomplished side in the first half only for the Netherlands to reemerge for the second with a renewed focus, soon finding an equaliser through Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek. Owen Wijndal had lifted a ball to the back post to find him unmarked, and he converted well.
It was a true international friendly in many ways, with a slew of substitutions in the second half contributing to the absence of a genuine flow to the game.
The atmosphere was hindered by two early injuries – Nathan Ake left the pitch for the hosts six minutes in after pulling up sharply while Jose Gaya went off injured after a nasty collision on the half-hour mark.
One important milestone that came from the game was that Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos equalled Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon to become the European footballer to have made the most appearances for his national team, with 176.
The Andalusian should surpass Buffon on Saturday, when La Roja take on Switzerland in the Nations League before locking horns with Germany next week. Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente also made his debut for Spain, following in the footsteps of his father, great uncle and maternal grandfather.
Featured image courtesy of Goal.
